Pull production system in a food packaging company

• Main Author: Yong, Kevan Cai Chim
• Other Authors: Chen Songlin
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Manufacturing
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/60609
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

High inventory holding costs and the competition of lead time are concerns of a food packaging manufacturer. In this dissertation, causes of high WIP were identified and three approaches were developed to reduce and control better the WIP. The author proposed to split the production line into dedicated lines, to change the push production system to a pull production system, and to align the process times to the takt time. A simulation model of the proposed production line was analyzed and was verified by a simulation model of the current production line. It is found that the proposed production line reduced the WIP by 70% and the production lead time was reduced by 72% on average. The expected resultant saving is $126,048 annually. The author has also found that the proposed production line is only feasible when the demand is over 4,183 rolls monthly.